Steelers defenceman Jones makes family admission

Sam is the younger offspring at 22...and is disarmingly honest about how he measures up to Adam, 24, an alternate captain at NIHL club Basingstoke Bison.

The younger brother has signed a two-year deal with Sheffield after making his EIHL debut with Fife Flyers, last term.

Adam has served the blueline cause at Bison for the past two years and has played in the UK top flight with Guildford Flames and Belfast Giants.

Steelers' coach Aaron Fox sees offensive capabilities and a clear path for development for Sam.

Jones junior can't wait to get started, but admits there are qualities he can learn from his sibling.

"My brother is more defensive minded than myself" he said.

"His strengths are my weaknesses, he’s better in the defensive zone and doesn’t make many mistakes.

"My strength would have to be my skating and my instinct on the puck.

"The main thing I need to work on is my defensive awareness and positioning, I improved on it a lot last year, but it is still something I really need to improve on if I want to be successful at the EIHL level."

Adam, formerly of Telford Tigers, had a varied workload last season at Basingstoke and is now looking to progress himself.

"He was finishing his masters degree last year and wants to play in the EIHL this season. As we’ve both matured I would welcome playing on a team with him, it would be something pretty special."

Sam moved to Canada from the Midlands with his family, when he was eight.

So does he regard himself as a Brit or a Canadian?

"Honestly I like to play it both ways depending on the circumstances. At the end of the day I’m proud of being from both countries, both of them have unique parts about them that I love."

The playing opportunities in North America were not always clear cut, however.

"I was sick of the junior hockey system in Canada," said Sam, who hopes to wear the GB shirt for the first time.

"You don’t have a contract so you don’t have any rights, I was traded for my second time in my first year in the British Columbia Hockey League and got tired of it."

In the UK professional league, he said: "You can actually negotiate a contract and have certain employment rights which made me feel much more comfortable."

*The EIHL are working towards starting the new season with the so-called 'Magic 5 Weekend' on December 5th and 6th - which would clear the way for Steelers to take part in the Continental Cup in Italy the month before, as The Star suggested recently.

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